Home › About

What is the South Australian History Hub?

The SA History Hub is an interactive way of engaging with the history of our state. This site is built on stories of South Australia’s people, places and events, the city streets and the buildings and monuments that line them, and the events that enliven them. It is also about the communities and organisations that have shaped South Australia and the broader historical subjects that help us make sense of the past and the present. And we want your help to tell the story, to share your stories of the state, your favorite images and your responses.

The SA History Hub is a work in progress and will grow over time as we, and you, contribute more about South Australia. It aims to become a comprehensive and multifacteted history that reflects South Australia in all its complexity and richness.

The SA History Hub, along with its companion website Adelaidia, has been developed by the History Trust of South Australia, a leading history and museum organisation that researches and preserves the history of South Australia for future generations. We seek to present history in a way that inspires exploration, discovery, exchange and understanding.

The History Trust of South Australia is grateful to our content partners: the editors and publishers of the Wakefield Companion to South Australian History and the Historical Society of South Australia. We are also grateful to the many cultural institutions who have made their collections available to the project, in particular the State Library of South Australia, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Adelaide City Council Archives.

Technical details

This site was developed in Drupal 7, an open source content management platform. The site utilises responsive design to ensure accessibility and a consistent user experience on multiple devices, including android and iOS. Supported browsers include Chrome, Safari, Forefox and Internet Explorer v.8 and newer. 

Adelaidia, a companion site to the SA History Hub, has been developed using the same Drupal CMS and responsive design approach. Adelaidia also has an associated native mobile app for both android and iOS. The app, which is location specific, allows users to explore Adelaidia content geographically near to them while on foot in the Adelaide CBD. In the future we hope to develop more mobile apps from the SA History Hub to showcase the states suburban and regional histories.

User contributions

Many areas of this site allow you, the user, to post their own material. You can leave comments on most pages, you can submit a ‘user story’ and upload related media to a topic entry on the site, you can suggest new content for inclusion on the site, you can upload media associated with existing content, and you can submit feedback about the site. Comments will be published directly to the site, while user stories, multimedia contributions and content suggestions will be moderated before being published. Offensive language is automatically checked by the system. Moderation and publication of user stories will occur as soon as possible. Submission of content to this site does not guarantee publication. The History Trust of South Australia reserves the right not to publish any contribution that contravenes the moderation policy at its sole discretion.  

Materials posted by users do not necessarily reflect the views of this site or the History Trust of South Australia. By posting materials on this site, you represent that you have all necessary rights in and to such materials and that such materials will not infringe any personal or proprietary rights of any third parties, nor will such materials be defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene or otherwise objectionable.

The History Trust of South Australia reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to review, edit or delete any material posted by users. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the History Trust of South Australia expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for any material communicated by third parties through this website.

Site policies and statements

Visit the SA History Hub’s Terms and Conditions page to view more about our Privacy, Disclaimer and Moderation statements.

This month in South Australia’s history

The Grand Central Hotel opens
The Grand Central Hotel opens

In 1909 William Gibson purchased the York Hotel on the southeast corner of Rundle Street and Pulteney Street. It was demolished to make way for an up-market hotel. The Grand Central Hotel opened with much fanfare on 20 June 1911. The hotel contained 150 rooms plus lounges, two saloons, a billiard room, and writing and smoking rooms. The dining room could accommodate up to 600 people. Other publicised features included an ‘immense’ central light court, electric lifts and artificial heating. The flat roof was intended to house a tennis court and tea garden. Guests included the Prince of Wales, Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, the hotel did not flourish. In 1926 it was bought by Foy & Gibson and incorporated into the department store. When the store moved further west along Rundle Street in the 1950s the former hotel was sold to the Electricity Trust of South Australia and was then used by government departments. It was demolished in 1975–76 and replaced by a multi-storey car park.
The East Wing is added
The East Wing is added

Plans for the completion of Parliament House, omitting the tower and dome, were prepared by the Architect-in-Chief’s Department in 1913 but the project came to a halt with the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The plans lay dormant until being revived in 1934 during discussions on how best to celebrate South Australia’s centenary. Parliament decided that an event worthy of this occasion would be best achieved by a ‘great work of historic interest and national importance’, the completion of Parliament House. The completed Parliament House was opened on 5 June 1939, exactly 50 years after the opening of the West Wing.
Unveiled
Unveiled

Statue officially unveiled by Governor George Le Hunte on the Prince of Wales’ birthday.